[DWard29]

HI. First post on Crackberry.

In short - I'm thinking of buying a Blackberry Classic Blue. I don't know anyone that has a Blackberry Classic, and if I purchase it, it will be my first blackberry device - so naturally I am shooting in the dark. I'm looking for a sanity check to make sure that my expectations are realistic and to see what BB users (like you) can offer for advice or things to keep in mind so that I can make an informed purchase.

So where to begin? History perhaps. First phone was a Nexus S. Second phone was a Nexus 4. Third phone was also a Nexus 4. Every one of my phones have been replaced for one reason - I drop them in winter time onto the ice and the screen shatters in the most unforgiving manner possible. I live in Canada.

So - why did the BB Classic catch my eye?

• Physical Keyboard
• One Handed Solid device - not too big
• Built in FM tuner
• Seems pretty durable and Otterbox makes a Defender case for it - which I think I need.

What do I use my phone for?

• Getting Organized. (I have ADHD - I absolutely NEED a calendar, todo list, reminders, alarms, etc to function)
• Texting family and friends
• Listening to tunes while I work
• GPS / Navigation
• Reading and reponding to emails (multiple Gmail accounts)
• I hardly ever dial out. Incoming calls are typically limited to my kids school, the doctors office, or directionally-challenged delivery people.

I will also say that I'm not "unhappy" with Android .. maybe a bit tired of it. Its slow at times and I think it could use serious improvements in regards to how many updates it does, and how it uses your information. I believe that a person's smart phone is akin to their diary .. a person's life is captured on these devices...

What are my hesitations:

• Classic was released in Feb 2014. Classic Blue came out this past July, but from what I've been reading - it has the same hardware. The price seems a bit high considering the hardware specs.
• The ShopBlackberry store seems to be the only place to purchase it (Amazon had it but it was $200 more). Reading the shipping policies - it looked like it was shipping from the United States and I'd have to pay Customs / Brokerage fees. I'm probably just completely out of touch - but I don't understand why a Canadian company would be forcing Canadians to buy things from outside the country
• I've seen more than one post on Crackberry where people have told Classic owners that BB is not a consumer device - its an enterprise device. I loved the idea of being able to separate Work and Personal (BB Balance) - and was disappointed to discover that was only an enterprise feature .. so what other surprises await me where a feature is enterprise only?
• I seen at least one bad review of the Classic of Crackberry. When I see people reporting that it is "slow" or "laggy" - little alarm bells go off in my head. One of the things that irritates me the most about Android is its non-responsive interface. If I have too many apps open on my phone - it should NOT make my phone so laggy that I can't swipe to answer a call. I am also concerned about reports of hard to read font sizes and glaring bugs in the OS that do not get fixed.
• There are not a lot of objective reviews. It is difficult to determine how objective people's reviews are. For example, Crackberry is a site dedicated to the brand - so naturally most of the people responding are loyal BB users and I would expect most of the reviews are going to be positive. From where I'm sitting, maybe the products are really great or maybe people have used BB so long that the OS bugs and feature deficiencies don't register - and they are in the "everything is awesome" mode. Conversely, BB has been thoroughly trashed by the media and public opinion in recent years and I have to wonder if the people doing this have actually used BB and are objective, or are just bashing it because it was the market leader and they want to see their own favorite brand succeed.

Thank you in advance - and sorry for the long post - I'm wordy.

[undefinederror]

I see your long post, and call with a similarly long response.

Starting from the top:
-physical keyboard: mine has held up without issue for nearly 12 months. (Even though it has come in contact with a bit of water)
-fits and functions with 1 hand. ...sometimes there is an icon near the top of the screen that I need to hit, and it's tricky to reach with 1 hand.‎
-fm tuner: i've never heard someone look for that in a phone. Cool. From the music application, you will see a screen that lists all the channels that the phone is currently receiving. Pick your favorite to begin. You can also tune to specific channels, or save favorites etc etc
-otterbox case will probably work. I use a seidio case.

-Calendar is alright. I really don't use mine that often. But I have my letter 'c' set to open the calendar. (that's a big perk about the physical keyboard. Every button can be set to a shortcut. So from the home screen, just push and hold a letter, and that program/action will open)
-to do lists, reminders, notes, and voicenotes are in one application called reminder.
-texting is easy. It doesn't matter what your doing on your phone. From any screen you just swipe up and to the right in an inverted 'L' shape, and you will be brought to the inbox(called the Hub). Now message away!(note: the swiping up action, without continuing to the right, will minimize your application. The same as hitting the end key on the phone)
-gps: I don't use BlackBerry's native map. I should honestly test it out more. But for now, I have installed google maps. Many android applications will run on BlackBerry10. Bb10 has an android run time built in.
-emails are incredibly easy. Just like texts. Swipe up and right to go to your Hub. ...if you don't like how all messages go to one centre, you can click on the bottom left icon in the hub, and open a specific account(voicemail, calls, missed calls, texts, bbm, email account 1, email account 2... etc etc)
-classic blue has the same hardware as every other classic.‎
-as far as purchasing the phone goes, i'd start by making sure you're on shopblackberry.ca and not .com. Blackberry sells unlocked phones, so you can take them to any carrier.‎
Otherwise, if you don't mind being locked to a specific carrier(until you unlock your phone on your own) then go to your carriers store. Bell/telus/rogers etc all have classics for sale.
-BlackBerry Balance: the way I understand it, is that balance exists so that employers don't loose control of their property. A rouge employee or contractor will be unable to copy data from the work partition of the phone, and send it to a friend on the personal section of the phone. ...if data theft isn't an issue for you, you should be able to keep your own inboxes in check
(also, you can colour code the Hub so that all red highlighted emails are from one account, all blue highlighted emails are a second email, all green are texts etc etc)
-lag: it's not the fastest phone in the world. When you open a new application(photos, calculator, notes...), there is about a half second delay between the click and when your program is ready to function.(it's longer if you are opening android applications.)
But if the program is already running, and is just minimized, it will respond instantly.‎

Any other questions?‎

Posted via CB10

[undefinederror]

Actually, i'll raise you.
Here's a quick couple tips for the toolbelt on the Classic. (thanks to Slagman for tips)


1. To minimize an app, press the call end button. Simple enough, but you can build on that. From the homescreen with the apps in active frame (minimized), highlighting one and pressing the back key will close it. So combine this with the fact that pressing call end will minimize it, if you want to outright close a program, all you have to do is press call end, then back, since it highlights the app you just minimized automatically. The benefits to this are that not only do you not need to move your thumb as much, but you can do this without looking at your phone. Swiping up and touching the x requires looking.
2. While in an app, pressing the BB button will open the overflow menu (3 dots on the bottom right). If that menu has more than one page, simply swipe on the trackpad in the direction of the other page and it'll switch.
3. To access the top menu inside apps, no more need to reach your thumb all the way to the top of the screen, simply long press the BB button.
4. As long as the phone app isn't minimized (where you might have navigated away from the main phone log), when you bring up the phone app by pressing the call send button, the last call should be highlighted, so to quickly redial the last number, simply press the call send button twice.
5. From the hub, holding the shift key and swiping up or down with the trackpad will start highlighting messages, let go of shift and you can start selecting messages that are not together by highlighting then pressing down on the trackpad. You can toggle already selected messages on and off by clicking on them. To cancel the selection, press the back button. Press the BB key to open the options for what you just highlighted.
6. Long pressing with the trackpad does exactly what long touching on the touchscreen does. Trust me, this is super useful.
7. To select text, just use the trackpad to where you want to start, then hold shift and swipe over the trackpad. Then to copy the text, just press the BB key to open the menu, "Copy" should be highlighted so you can just press the BB key again (basically press BB key twice). Then to paste the text, go to where you want to paste, and same thing, press BB key twice.
8. In the camera, if you press and hold the trackpad, the camera will refocus, then when you let go of the trackpad it will take the photo.
9. In an email, just press the BB button twice to send, unless you have text you have copied that haven't been pasted yet. If that's the case and you still want to send, make use of tip #2 and swipe in the direction of the "more" option on your trackpad, then hit the trackpad or BB key.

Posted via CB10

[DWard29]

Thanks for the reply.

So reading between the lines, it sounds like you are weighing in that, given what I laid out, I shouldn't be disappointed?

I have watched a number of youtube videos on the classic and its clear to me that you have to learn how to use it, but once you do, it pays dividends. I don't have a problem with that. A lot of what you described - I wasn't aware of - but sounds slick.

The lag you were describing when launching applications sounds like the same thing I'd expect from any other phone. My concern is more like .. if the operating system is chewing on something - does it bring the rest of the processes to their knees? Suppose it suddenly found a Wifi network and connects to it in the background. Then, because it is now on WiFi and not mobile network, it checks for updates, syncs this .. transfers that .. etc. So while its doing all of this - I'm in the midsts of writing a text .. do I suddenly find that I have to slow down my typing in order to let the OS catch up and display it?

I double checked the store - it has the country in the top before I go to the checkout page. The checkout page shows the CAD price, $499 not the USD price - and if I click on the terms or whatever it does identify them as relating to Canada. So I think its safe to say I'm on the Canadian purchase page. The only shipping option is "International Express" .. and on the side bar it says something about California Privacy .. Not clear at all... Using the "Contact Us" boxes you in to the self help system - no sales support or an ability to call or chat with someone to answer questions.

Do Blackberries become obsolete as quickly as other phones?

[Ulferini Schusterotti]

Classic was released in Feb 2014.

The Classic was released in December 2014, so its just a year since release.

[wilber1]

Classic is on sale at Staples Canada for 399. no duty .

[conbrio29]

Classic is on sale at Staples Canada for 399. no duty .

Price is back up to $499 now last I checked. And you'll get an old unit too, mine was made in February 2015 and I got it from Staples a couple days ago.

Posted via CB10

[undefinederror]

Thanks for the reply.

So reading between the lines, it sounds like you are weighing in that, given what I laid out, I shouldn't be disappointed?

I have watched a number of youtube videos on the classic and its clear to me that you have to learn how to use it, but once you do, it pays dividends. I don't have a problem with that. A lot of what you described - I wasn't aware of - but sounds slick.

The lag you were describing when launching applications sounds like the same thing I'd expect from any other phone. My concern is more like .. if the operating system is chewing on something - does it bring the rest of the processes to their knees? Suppose it suddenly found a Wifi network and connects to it in the background. Then, because it is now on WiFi and not mobile network, it checks for updates, syncs this .. transfers that .. etc. So while its doing all of this - I'm in the midsts of writing a text .. do I suddenly find that I have to slow down my typing in order to let the OS catch up and display it?

I double checked the store - it has the country in the top before I go to the checkout page. The checkout page shows the CAD price, $499 not the USD price - and if I click on the terms or whatever it does identify them as relating to Canada. So I think its safe to say I'm on the Canadian purchase page. The only shipping option is "International Express" .. and on the side bar it says something about California Privacy .. Not clear at all... Using the "Contact Us" boxes you in to the self help system - no sales support or an ability to call or chat with someone to answer questions.

Do Blackberries become obsolete as quickly as other phones?

Right, you shouldn't be disappointed.

Glad to hear you are watching videos about the phone. The smaller screen shouldn't come as a shock to you.

You're actions on the phone will never be impacted by what is happening in the background. The background transfers will go unnoticed.

I'm on BlackBerry's website right now. The 'international shipping' option is the only one available. So I'm sure they just negotiated shipping rates with a shipping company, to provide shipping options world wide. But since it's calculating $0.00 for shipping to Canada, I doubt the phone will leave the country.

As for becoming obsolete, new hardware is developed to outperform the old, so all phones will become outdated one day. If you get a Classic, which has a midrange quality processor, then you should compare it to other midrange devices as they come out, rather than comparing it to future flagship devices.
If the trackpad and toolbelt are what's steering you towards a Classic, then you will probably have the best phone for quite some time. Since i'm not expecting any phone manufacturers to make a new phone with a trackpad/mouse.

If by obsolete, you weren't referring to hardware, then BlackBerry can't really be bashed by media any further. So you won't be going downhill there


One other note, look up the BlackBerry assistant on the classic. See if you like that concept.

Posted via CB10

[tedj74]

I have had BlackBerry for about 15 yrs. Started with a curve, then to torch, then to Z10, now a classic. I love them all.
The lag you are talking about is nothing compared to the S4-S5-S6 that my wife and kids have. I run android apps with no problem, and love the messaging functions of the BlackBerry. I use the track pad daily and have no issues at all. I use BlackBerry maps and have had no problems ( I travel for work a lot and have had no issues with directions). I use the calendar and alarms daily to remind me of meetings, conference calls, etc. They keep me organized.
Getting used to the swiping actions is easy and makes the phone function even better when you master it. Took me a couple of hours. When I pick up my kids phones I find myself swiping to open apps and then realize I love my phone even more. I am a heavy email / social media user and the battery lasts me all day.
The only thing I don't like is the options to download music with BlackBerry. So I downloaded everything I wanted to listen to to my laptop and then connected my BlackBerry and transferred it all. Have about 1500 songs and 20 playlists right now.

Hope this helps you make an better informed decision.

Posted via CB10

[glwerry]

I have had the Classic for 6 months. Biggest beef is that Android stuff is not reliable, but the I haven't loaded Cobalt's stuff, which would help.

Facebook native app is useless, but I use m.facebook.com in the browser and that's very fast.
2nd biggest beef is that I have to hold base of phone away from my mouth so that my cheek doesn't press the screen and mute or drop calls. It's livable, especially since I don't use it as a phone very much.

Overall, I'm VERY happy. I HATE virtual keyboards, find Apple's to be a gigantic hassle.

One tip: if you have more than a couple of numbers to enter, do a long press on ALT. It top right-hand corner there is an "ALT" box that shows up with a black background; during the long press the background goes to blue - ALT is now LOCKED and you can type all the numbers you want.

Also, if you long-press a letter it will capitalize - very handy.

[idssteve]

Do Blackberries become obsolete as quickly as other phones?

I'm typing this on a 4+ year old 9900. Lol. BlackBerry's OSes have always performed with amazing efficiency on relatively modest specs. That's why their "new" offerings are so routinely derided as "underpowered" by know nothing reviewers simply looking at numbers.

Overwhelming horsepower requires battery and heat dissipation considerations that just aren't significantly relevant to BB's primary mission. I, personally, believe our Classic's might have enjoyed greater consumer success fitted with "bragging rights" specs of PassPort. Or even Z30. But it gets its job done with workman like efficiency. Just don't expect that workman make the best showman.

You might want to try out BB10's Calendar and see how you get along with it. My Classic's version of Calendar is a large part of why I'm dual carrying my 4yr old 9900. Lol. You might get along ok, tho. You might find some calendar apps to be ok also.

Classic's toolbelt is its claim for fame. Trackpad makes screen size irrelevant. Physical "end" key provides unmatched "warmphuzzie" for securely ending a call. Glass oriented "end" being a privacy issue that hasn't yet been adequately considered in the industry, IMO.

Forget your finger and embrace "BlackBerry thumb" (thumbnail) operation, learn shortcuts, set speed dials, etc and Classic's toolbelt will provide the most satisfying single handed experience of ANY device in current production. Let the toolbelt grow on you and you just might wonder how you ever got along without it. .

[undefinederror]

2nd biggest beef is that I have to hold base of phone away from my mouth so that my cheek doesn't press the screen and mute or drop calls. It's livable, especially since I don't use it as a phone very much.

You shouldn't have to do that.
Sounds like you have a proximity sensor issue. It's located roughly 8mm left of the speaker. Do you have a screen protector that is covering the sensor?

Download blackberry's virtual expert ( http://appworld.blackberry.com/webst...ntent/27226887 ). It is built by blackberry and is used to test your device. Run the proximity sensor test.

Posted via CB10

[DWard29]

Thanks for the replies. I went ahead and placed my order. I was very close to ordering it before I originally posted, so just bouncing it off you guys and seeing your praise for the device has put me at ease a bit. If it came out in Dec 2014 then its not as big of a deal.

I think "Obsolete" was the wrong word to use -- obsolete pertains specifically to something falling out of favor due to time. I think the word I should have used is "ineffective". Google is constantly pushing out updates and trying to stimulate apps by making it easier for developers to make apps. Quick and dirty development typically results in applications that use more memory and cpu time... this accelerates the decline of a devices' usefulness. I suppose one could turn off updates but that's not really what I'm getting at. If 90% of the apps we'll use on a Blackberry are written by Blackberry and they tend to only do significant updates their OS in tandem with releasing new flagship products - then I'd expect the phones to remain useful for quite a while. Hopefully I'm making sense here and not just babbling
EDIT: While writing this I see idssteve's post and he's answered the question.

I looked up Blackberry Assistant. It seems to be akin to Contana, Siri, Google Now. I find Google Now never works correctly - I spend more time correcting what it does than I would have spent just doing it myself. Not sure how effective Blackberry Assistant turned out.

I will refrain from going off on a gripe about how horrible Facebook is on any device I'll leave it at "Not a concern for me" for purchasing a new phone.

I found it strange that the proximity sensor wouldn't shut off the touchscreen / trackpad ... Glad undefinederror weighed in on that.

As far as where it ships from - I'll check the order tracking and post it here when I find out. Then if others have the same question they can find the answer.

[undefinederror]

I looked up Blackberry Assistant. It seems to be akin to Contana, Siri, Google Now. I find Google Now never works correctly - I spend more time correcting what it does than I would have spent just doing it myself. Not sure how effective Blackberry Assistant turned out.

I use it every single time I use my phone. After waking the phone, from the home screen just start typing. You don't have to open any applications, or click any text boxes to start.
Eg: I want to text a friend.
Rather than going into the contact app, and search for them, or rather than opening the text inbox, and searching for the chat history... I just type 'jeff'. All instances of jeff will be displayed in organized categories(the order the categories appear in is customizable). I click the text message in the search result, then go.

Or if I am on my way to a jobsite, I type the name of the site, then open the PDF that comes up in the search results.
Rather than opening adobe, and scrolling through the list of PDFs on my phone.

Posted via CB10

[th.1977]

The classic can be found all over Canada. No need to order from the usa

Posted via CB10

[DWard29]

The classic can be found all over Canada. No need to order from the usa

I wanted the Cobalt Blue Blackberry Classic. Didn't seem to be available from anywhere else.
And I can confirm - that it does in fact ship out of the states.
FedEx Tracking had it leave Indianapolis, IN this morning. 5-6 days international shipping time estimate.
Wonder how much customers will be and if there will be any brokerage fees.

[mac_berrymore]

Hi,

did you ever consider a BB Passport? Original or SE even. This is a beast; very very fast and opening apps is very quick! nothing to do with the Classic. But ok it's not a one handed device as the Classic. If you install the Cobalt's programs you'll be able to use most android apps not at full speed unfortunately.

[slagman5]

Hm, the balance thing might be the only enterprise only feature if I remember correctly. I've never had the phone lag on me to where it won't function. There might be a few little slow downs here and there, but usually within apps. The OS itself is pretty responsive in my opinion. I honestly think your biggest adjustment would be the need to actually push down on each key to type...

Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10

[tangozulu]

FM tuner on BB10 works fine as long as you are within cell phone coverage only. It does not use data in order to listen to radio stations but will not work unless it receives the local station list. It will not simply scan or let you input a known radio frequency. This I find very disappointing as my old BBOS Curve radio worked just like a radio.

Posted via CB10

[Al moon]

from whats in your post OP you dont seem to need lots of apps or android apps either which is fine, if your using it for what your stating the pone will be perfect for you.

[DWard29]

FM tuner on BB10 works fine as long as you are within cell phone coverage only. It does not use data in order to listen to radio stations but will not work unless it receives the local station list. It will not simply scan or let you input a known radio frequency. This I find very disappointing as my old BBOS Curve radio worked just like a radio.

Why would they put in an FM tuner that you can't actually tune? I mean - my provider (Mobilicity) doesn't have service outside the cities .. so if I travel outside the city, I won't be able to listen to the radio? I can't for the life of me think of why they would design it that way.

EDIT: I don't think what you are saying is the case... at least not according to the information posted by blackberry.

It does say "The FM Radio might not be available to you, depending on your service provider and the rules set by your administrator." - which I understand to mean that if my phone is provisioned by the IT team (which it is not) - they could disallow FM radio.
help.blackberry.com/en/blackberry-classic/10.3.1/help/lsy1385304237085.html

There is also instructions to manually tune in to an FM station.

[undefinederror]

Yeah, I have a tough time believing that.

I think you will get FM radio regardless of your cell reception/coverage.

Posted via CB10

[Marlon06]

If I'm not mistaken Classic came out in 2015 not 14 . So ur good. Not even a year old yet. If that was the case it'b approaching 2 yrs old.

Posted via CB10

[SunshineStateFlyer]

If I'm not mistaken Classic came out in 2015 not 14 . So ur good. Not even a year old yet. If that was the case it'b approaching 2 yrs old.

Posted via CB10

In fact the Classic was launched late 2014, so it basically hit the markets in early 2015. Nonetheless, its internals are from early 2013, meaning it's definitely not a powerful phone. However, that doesn't mean it cannot fulfill one's needs.

Posted via CB10

[wilber1]

If I'm not mistaken Classic came out in 2015 not 14 . So ur good. Not even a year old yet. If that was the case it'b approaching 2 yrs old.

Posted via CB10

I received my Classic approx 1 year ago this week first shipment so exactly 1 year ago they came out.